Support for wire reels



MarchZS, 1939. E. P. MOSLO SUPPORT FOR WIRE REEL5 Filed March 17, 1937 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3fiventor fie/v5.57 2 M0540 attorney March 28, 1939. p MQSLQ 2,152,559

- SUPPORT FOR WIRE REELS Filed March 17, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

(It tomeg Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates'to reels for coils of wire and to improvements in the supporting structure therefor,

In wire drawing operations and in the manu- 5 facture of wire products, it is customary to work the stock from coils which are arranged in relation to the fabricating machine to accommodate the most effectuous feed thereto and the most expeditious renewal of stock to the coil supportl ing frame. To this end some effort has beendirected, in the past, to the construction-ofa coil frame having a reel so mounted thereon that the coil could be tilted to a vertical position and slid upon the reel, which was then swung to a hori- 15 zontal plane or the stock feeding position.

Devices of this character heretofore constructed were difficult of operation and necessitated the expenditure of considerable manual effort to swing the reel and coil to a horizontal position as 20 no counter-balance was embodied therein which was effective throughout the operative loading cycle of the device. Moreover, the coils-when mounted upon the reels heretofore in use were subject to vibratory reactions in the frame, were 25 unstable and inadaptable of 'diversifiedusage or unusual application.

In the present invention a counter-balance is provided to alter the center ofgravity of :the reel and coil during the adjustment thereof and thus .30 eliminate the arduous effort heretofore necessary to position the coilin its working position. The invention further embodies certain refinements in the reel and supporting structure therefor which facilitate the more rigid securementof the coil upon the reel and accommodate the device to more general application than is possible in similar devices in common use at :the present time.

In addition to the foregoing objects and ada 40 vantages, the invention comprehends astructure which is economic of manufacture, sturdy of construction, and a device adapted for ready manipulation.

In the drawings wherein the preferred embodi- 4=5 ment of the wire coil supporting mechanism is illustrated:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the supporting stand and reel illustrated. as adjusted in its vertical position;

0 Fig. 2 is a similar side elevational view illustrating the reel in its horizontal position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a reel supporting member, the section being indicated on the line 3-4; of Fig. 1, the drawing being shown upon an enlarged scale and having the reel removed and fragmentary portion of the base broken away;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view illustrating the reel latching mechanism, the section being taken on a plane being indicated by the line 44 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the coil retention member;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the base ring constituting a portion of the coil reel; and 10 Fig. '7 is a detailed view shown upon an en-' larged scale of a fragmentary portion of the reel bearing and the reel brake associated therewith.

Fig. 8 is a view in perspective of a fragmentary portion of the reel ring, the spoke construction therefor and the arm supporting block and clamp,

Referring first to Fig. 1, thewire coil supporting structure comprises a base ID of prismoidal configuration, being preferably formed of welded sheet metal plates and having a hand hole and, removable cover plate ll therein so that the chamber formed thereby may be partially filled with a comminuted material 60 as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 1 to provide the necessary Weight for the base of the device. Upon the base 5 [0 there is a pair of spaced vertical arms or stanchions l2 which are also formed of sheet metal plates welded to form a box section generally of I triangular configuration. The upper portion of the stanchions I2 is bored to receive trunnion bearings 13 having pintles .l4 therein extended inwardly to support a counterweight member l5. The counterweightmember as shown is triangular in side elevation, being formed of, sheet metal plates welded along their peripheral edges to constitute a box section for the reception of a comminuted material 6| such as shot, or small fragments of broken castings accessible through. a hand hole and cover plate 15a. .The upper portion of the counter-balance member 15 is formed 40 with bearing blocks 16 welded to the inner face of the side walls of the housing and provided with journal bearings 11 for the reception of the inner ends of the pintles 14. The lower forward end 18 of the counterweight housing [5 is arcuate to facilitate the rotation of the housing upon the pivotal support provided by the pintles [4. Within the upper portion of the counterweight housing I5 there is a post l9 welded in place and protruding inwardly into the housing l5, the end thereof being connected with a transverse tubular cross member 20. The outer free end of the post I9 is formed with a boss 2| for the reception of a setscrew 22 which retains the reel arbor 23.

.In addition to the setscrew 22 the reel arbor 23 is restrained from inward movement within the post by a collar 24 welded or otherwise affixed within the post. Telescopically engaged within the arbor 23 there is a rod 25 having a knurled sleeve 26 on the outer end thereof pinned to the rod 25 and counter bored at its inner end for engagement upon the shouldered end portion of the arbor 23. The inner end of the rod 25 is provided with a pin 21 which, as shown in Fig. 4, is I eccentrically mounted to form a cam or key blade disposed to extend inwardly through an opening in the tube 29 for engagement with the shoulders of a-notch 28 machined in a throw bolt 29. The throw bolt is mounted for reciprocative movement within the tube 20 and is formed with a conical end portion 30 urged by a compression spring 3| to engage either of the conical bores 32 or 33 in a plate 34 welded upon the inner face of the contiguous arm or stanchion l2. The function of this assembly is to lock the housing |5 in reel supporting position eitherin the vertical or horizontal plane as illustrated respectively in Figs. 1 and 2, such structure affording the operator the opportunity of grasping the sleeve 26 to raise or lower the coil while he is in position in front of the reel. By rotating the shaft 25 the operator will cause the pin 21 to engage the shouldered portion of the slot 28, overcomethe spring 3|,

and cause the retraction of the throw bolt 29, whereupon the reel may be rotated to the desired position, then by releasing the sleeve 25, the spring will force the throw bolt into locked enagement.

. The wire coil reel comprises a ring 40 having spokes 4| preferably of I-beam section joined with the inner peripheral edge of thering and connected to a hub member 42 bored for sliding engagement upon the arbor 23. Adjacent and parallel each of the spokes 4| in the ring 49 there is a secondary rail 43 secured to the inner peripheral edge of the ring and to the hub and face of the adjacent spoke 4|. Such construction affords a bearing surface for the finger blocks 44 which comprise 'a rectangular body having a tongue or key 45 in the base portion thereof for engagement between the rails 43 and the spokes 4|. The blocks are bored to receive bolts or studs 46 which extend through the opening between the spokes 4| and rails 43 and beyond the lower face thereon. The free ends of the bolts are provided with nuts 41 formed to engage the lower faces of the rails and spokes and as illustrated in Fig. 1 provided with a crossarm or pin to facilitate the ready adjustment thereof. The outer faces of the blocks 44 are provided with fingers 48 having the free ends thereof bent inwardly to readily accommodate the reception of the coil of wire when introduced thereover. The outer ring 49 (Fig. 5) is formed with a hub member 50 bored for reception upon the reel arbor 23, the radial spokes 5| therein being connected with the inner periphery of the ring 49. Adjacent one of the spokes 5| and, parallel thereto there is a rail 52 welded to the inner rim of the ring and to the contiguous spoke 5|. The rail is spaced from the spoke 5| a suitable distance to provide for the reentrant engagement of one of the fingers 48 between the rail and adjacent spoke and is provided to prevent rotative movement of the ring when positioned upon the coil. The ring or wheel member 49 although shown somewhat lighter in structure than the ring 40, may be of any suitable size to afiord the necessary weight for the various types of wire to be'used upon the reel, as this member comprises merely a compression element to constrain undue freedom of the uppermost convolutions' of wire in the coil as the Wire is being fed therefrom to the fabricating machine. The hub 42 of the ring 40 is preferably formed with anti-friction bearings 53 to minimize the tension on the wire as it is fed to the machine. The reel may be longitudinally positioned upon the arborv 23 by a collar 54 which is secured in position thereon'by a set screw 55. Upon one of the spokes 4| of the ring 40 there is an arm 56 preferably se-- cured thereto by a bolt 51, the free end of the arm being bored 'to receive the shank of a brakeshoe 58 which is spring-urged upon the face of the arbor 23t0 restrain the rotative movement of the reel when the fabricating machine is sud-- denly stopped or exerts undue tension upon the wire.

'In operation the attendant, when replacing a coil of wire, first lowers the reel to the vertical position shown in Fig. 2, then removes the ring 49. In, the event a coil of wire, or heavier gauge or greater size and weightis to be used, the attendant will remove the counterweight housing cover plate |5a and add sufiicient quantity of shot or comminuted scrap iron to suitably balance the weight of the coil. The attendant then tips the coil of wire upon its edge, adjusts the fingers 48 so as to engage the inner periphery of the coil of wire and then tighten nuts 41 to secure the blocks 44 in locked adjustment. The next operation in sequence is to rotate the rod 25, thus retracting the throw bolt 29 and then elevate the coil by rotating the counter-balance member |5 to the vertical position shown in Fig. 1. Due to the configuration of the chamber formed in the housing I5, the comminuted material or ballast 6| will shift towards the rear of the chamber so that the center of mass will re- I main rearward the vertical axis of rotation of the housing, thus supporting the reel and wire coil in a state of equilibrium throughout the en tire cycle of rotative adjustment of the housing. It will be readily recognized that with such construction less effort will be necessary to move the" reel to its adjusted position than is required with structures which are formed with a weighted pendulum of fixed length which will reach or approach a dead center within its arc of rotaa hollow base member having an opening therein for the admission of a finely divided material to increase the Weight of said base, a pair of vertical arms on said base member, a hollow counterbalance member intermediate said arms and pivotally supported thereon, an arbor on said counter-balance member, a wire reel pivotally mounted on said arbor, a throw bolt reciprocatively mounted in said counter-balance member and engageable in an opening in one of said arms for locking said counter-balancemember in a vertical or horizontal position, and a finely divided material constituting a' ballast medium in said counter-balance member for shifting the center of gravity thereof during the rotative adjustment of the counter-balance member from its horizontal to vertical position.

2. A wire coil supporting structure comprising a base member, a pair of stanchions thereon, one of said stanchions having a pair of openings therein, a counter-balance member intermediate said stanchions and pivotally mounted thereon, a tubular arbor on said counter-balance member, a wire reel rotatably mounted on said arbor, a rod mounted for oscillating movement in said arbor, and extended beyond said reel, a cam in the inner end of said rod, a throw bolt in said counter-balance member engageable with said openings in said stanchions to lock said counterbalance member in a vertical or horizontal position, said cam in said rod being engaged with said throw bolt and operatively controllable from a positive adjacent the outer face of said wire reel.

3. A wire coil supporting structure comprising a sheet metal hollow base member, a ballast material therein, a pair of vertical arms thereon, a hollow counter-balance housing member intermediate said arms and pivotally supported thereon, an arbor on said housing member, a wire reel pivotally mounted on said arbor, means for locking said housing member in a vertical or horizontal position and ballast material within said hollow counter-balance housing member for shifting the center of gravity during the adjustment thereof.

4. A wire coil supporting structure comprising a base member, a pair of stanchions thereon, a counter-balance member intermediate said stanchions and pivotally mounted thereon, an arbor mounted on said counter-balance member, a wire reel mounted on said arbor, said reel comprising a ring of channel section, a hub member, pairs of parallel I beams constituting spokes connecting said ring to said hub member, blocks spanning each pair of said spokes, wire coil supporting fingers mounted thereon, bolts extended through said blocks and between the parallel beams of said spokes, and nuts on said bolts engageable with the opposed face of said beams for clamping said blocks upon said spokes.

5. A wire coil supporting structure comprising a hollow sheet metal base member having an opening therein, a detachable cover therefor, a pair of vertical arms on said base member, a hollow sheet metal counter-balance member pivotally mounted between said arms, said counterbalance member having an opening thereon, a detachable cover therefor, an arbor mounted on said counter-balance member, a wire coil supporting reel rotatively mounted on said arbor,

means controllable through said arbor for lock-, ing saidcounter-balance member to said arms in a plurality of adjusted positions, a finely divided material constituting a ballast in said counterbalance member for shifting the center of gravity thereof during rotative adjustments, and a finely divided material in said base member to increase the weight thereof.

ERNEST P. MOSLO.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,152,559. March 2 19 9.

ERNEST P NCSLO.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above mmlbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, first column, line l9, claim 2, for "positive" read position; second column, line 21, claim 5, for "thereon" read therein; and'that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same ma; conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office. I

Signed and sealed this 9th day of May, A. D. 1959.

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting, Commissioner of Patents. 

